12 Best Millet Flour Substitutes
From quinoa to oat, we’ve rounded up the 12 best millet flour substitutes. No matter the recipe, find the perfect flour below.
This is a special guest post from Crystal Yentzen of Dessert Done Light!
Millet flour is a whole-grain, gluten-free flour full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. I love incorporating millet flour into my cooking and baking. But no worries if you can’t get your hands on some. There are plenty of substitutes that are just as wonderful. Below we’ve listed the 12 best, and I’ll bet you have at least one of them in your cupboard.
1. Oat Flour
Like millet flour, oat flour is whole grain and full of vitamins and minerals. It makes a great replacement for millet flour, especially in baked goods such as quick bread and cakes. Oat flour is sold in stores, but it’s also super easy to make at home. Simply blend old-fashioned oats in a high-speed blender until the oats become a fine powder (about 30 seconds to a minute). Store your oat flour in an air-tight container for up to three months.
2. Sorghum Flour
Sorghum flour is a nutritious choice for gluten-free cooking and makes an excellent replacement for millet flour. Sorghum flour is whole-grain and rich in fiber and iron. It has a sweet and nutty taste similar to millet flour and is great in bread and muffin recipes.
3. Quinoa Flour
Quinoa Flour is a high-protein, whole-grain flour that’s full of nutrients and, like millet flour, is gluten-free. Quinoa flour has an earthy, nutty taste and works well in most savory recipes and even some sweet recipes like these Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes. Also, making quinoa flour at home is easier than you may think. Here’s a quick method for how to make quinoa flour.
4. Rice Flour
Rice Flour makes a great gluten-free alternative to millet flour. It has a neutral flavor and will blend easily with whatever you’re cooking. Rice flour is sold in stores, but you can also make your own by grinding rice in a food processor or high-speed blender. For more fiber and nutrients, opt for brown rice flour.
5. Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat flour can be used in place of millet flour, although it has a stronger taste than millet flour, sometimes described as nutty and earthy. Buckwheat isn’t considered a grain but a pseudo-grain and is also gluten-free and very nutritious. If you’ve never cooked with buckwheat flour, give it a try! Here are 33 Buckwheat Flour Recipes to get you started.
6. Chickpea Flour
Chickpea flour, also known as garbanzo bean flour, is great for gluten-free baking and makes a good millet flour substitute. Chickpea flour has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor and is loaded with protein, fiber, and iron. You can find chickpea flour in most health food stores. Bob’s Red Mill is a popular brand. You can also find it in Indian grocery stores under the name of besan or gram flour.
7. Amaranth Flour
Although technically not a grain, amaranth yields a grain-like flour that’s described as having an earthy, nutty flavor. Like millet flour, amaranth is gluten-free and full of vitamins and minerals. Amaranth is great for baking but is usually combined with other flours and starches. If you opt for amaranth flour, your recipe may require a little tweaking.
8. Almond Flour
Almond flour is incredibly nutritious and has a good dose of healthy fat. This nut-based flour can take the place of millet flour in a lot of savory and sweet recipes. Almond flour has a sweet, almond-like taste that produces delicious
cakes and cookies like these Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies. Plus, the high-fat content helps to keep baked goods ultra-moist. Almond flour is readily available in supermarkets and health food stores. You can also make it at home by grinding almonds in a high-speed blender or food processor.
9. Montina Flour
Montina flour is yet another gluten-free flour that makes a great substitution for millet flour, although it’s not as easy to find as most other types of flour. Montina flour is milled from native grass and is high in protein and fiber. If you can get your hands on some, montina makes an excellent multi-purpose gluten-free flour.
10. All-Purpose Flour
If you aren’t on a gluten-free diet, all-purpose flour makes an excellent substitution for millet flour. Although not as nutritious as millet flour, AP flour is super-versatile and can be used in any recipe that calls for flour. It contains medium gluten and is strong enough for bread recipes yet tender enough for delicate pastries.
11. Whole Wheat Flour
Unlike white all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour contains the entire wheat kernel and is a nutritious choice if you aren’t gluten-free. You can substitute whole wheat flour for millet flour cup-for-cup in most recipes. In terms of flavor profile, whole wheat flour has a robust nutty flavor that isn’t quite as sweet as millet flour.
12. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Like whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour is a whole grain flour. The difference between the two is whole wheat pastry flour is milled from low-protein soft spring wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour is milled from hard winter wheat. I love baking with whole wheat pastry flour because it produces baked goods with a texture similar to white flour but with the health benefits of whole grain.
What’s your favorite millet flour substitute? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you enjoyed this post, please share it. Your support is greatly appreciated!